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Kayla, a former resident of the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, dropped by the shelter’s 10th anniversary celebration Saturday. The shelter has overseen approximately 34,000 adoptions and reunited almost 10,000 lost animals with their owners. Courtesy photo

Cheryl Schneider isn’t the only director for Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter has ever had — it only seems that way.

Her 10-year anniversary date and the shelter’s nearly coincide. But she is quick to praise others and the last to credit herself as the shelter celebrates the milestone.

But in spring 2007, “celebrate” was not a word one would have associated with what was then a brand-new facility located off the Inner Loop in Georgetown. Short-staffed and ill-equipped, the shelter seemed to some doomed to failure, as its first director quit in frustration and volunteers blamed county commissioners for what they saw as poor planning.

Enter Schneider late that summer, whose past training as an emergency room nurse — dealing with chaos and catastrophe — would serve the Walburg native well.

“Can you believe it?” Schneider said, grinning ear to ear as she recalled the situation she inherited and the progress made since then. “We survived!”

‘Going to crater’

The regional shelter is a collaborative effort, put together by Williamson County government in cooperation with the cities of Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Hutto. The cities of Georgetown and Taylor operate their own animal shelters.

Williamson County got into the shelter business when in 2006 county commissioners decided not to renew what was then an existing contract with the Leander-based Williamson County Humane Society. Thinking they could deliver better services — and deliver them more efficiently — the five partners joined together in building a $3.9 million animal shelter.

County government and its city partners stared out with high hopes in March 2007, though controversy and heartache soon overwhelmed their good intentions.

Within weeks, it became apparent the shelter could not handle its anticipated 7,000 dogs and cats per year with just five employees. Disgruntled employees and embittered volunteers voiced their protests at both Williamson County Commissioners Court and Round Rock City Council meetings.

Director Melanie Sobel quit in May 2007, citing what she called a “lack of planning” and an “insufficient budget.”

Elected county officials appeared caught off guard. Four of the five commissioners had not been in office a year before, when planning for the shelter began.

Independent consultant Gary Coe was brought in and offered his assessment: “Based on the number of dogs and cats that were going to come through here — and the few people you had to run it — it was going to crater,” he said.

“And it did.”

Turning the corner

Elected officials responded, as did animal lovers from the community. Round Rock leaders like then-Precinct 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman and Police Capt. Tim Ryle — who would later become chief — volunteered at the shelter.

Perhaps most significantly, county commissioners brought in Schneider, who at the time of her hiring filled the dual role of EMS director and animal services manager for the city of Lockhart.

Schneider had also previously worked as an emergency room nurse at what was then Georgetown Hospital, as well as a paramedic and training coordinator for Williamson County EMS.

Schneider recalled those early days. There was no holding area for stray dogs, nor a quarantine area for sick or injured animals.

“When I got here, I was just trying to work through every day,” she said. “The records were a mess. From 2007, I still have no idea how many animals were here. It’s kind of a blur. Things are so much better now.

Instead of focusing on the past, she said, she focused on moving forward. “Luckily, all those volunteers who were whistle blowers, we’re still friends today,” she said.

Schneider said there’s plenty of credit to be spread around, starting with the government entities that stepped up their financial commitments.

Today, the shelter has an annual budget in excess of $1.5 million — about three times what it was originally — with 20 full-time and six part-time employees. Round Rock city government contributes 28 percent of the shelter’s operating budget, based on the percentage of animals received from that city.

A community effort

To date, the regional shelter has overseen approximately 34,000 adoptions and reunited almost 10,000 lost animals with their owners.

Schneider described it as a community effort.

Working with municipal animal control officers, Schneider has encouraged them to get lost dogs back to their owners and not considering the shelter a first option.

The shelter has also received grant money for free spay and neutering services, partnering with local veterinary clinics that perform them on-site.

Then there are the volunteers. “Some come every day or every other day,” Schneider said. “There is probably not a day that goes by we do not have volunteers here. When you do good, they get behind you.”

Also, Schneider said volunteers fostering animals are pivotal for the shelter. More than 2,100 pets were fostered at nearly 700 homes last year, shelter records show.

All of that has led to the shelter’s designation as a “no kill” facility, meaning it has a save rate of more than 90 percent.

“We’ve come a long way,” Commissioner Valerie Covey said, who serves on the shelter’s board of directors. “Cheryl Schneider and her staff continue to do an outstanding job of taking care of the ever-growing number of lost or homeless animals in Williamson County.”

Expansion coming soon

It’s not quite Noah’s Ark, but Schneider said the shelter has seen its share of exotic creatures. Turtles, foxes, a wild ring-tailed cat — and even a kangaroo from Leander — have all called the shelter home at one time.

“It hopped onto her property out in the country,” Schneider recalled of the kangaroo. “It was her neighbor’s and her neighbor came and got it (from the shelter).”

Looking to the future, Schneider said she is excited about the planned $10 million expansion, with a groundbreaking slated for late 2017.

Shelter guests will benefit from a better surgery room and additional kennels, although increased costs will keep it from doubling the space as planned.

Schneider said it’s her goal to come away from the expansion with a shelter that will meet Williamson County’s needs for the next 10 years. By then, she said, she hopes to be retired.

Schneider ended the conversation — taking place just days before the start of spring — where she began it: by sharing the credit with others.

“Obviously, we could not do what we do without the community’s support. Hopefully, whoever takes my place will continue the programs.”